Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1895 — Who Are the Debtors? [ARTICLE]

Who Are the Debtors?

It is stated also that theinteres o f debtors demand the fr ee and un limited coinage of silver. Who arthe principal debtors 1 ourcoune try? First, and largest of all, the United States; then the States, the municipalities, the banks, the railroads,the iusurancecompanies, the savings banks and other great corporations. These at e the principal debtors, and they owe millions of money. If free coinage is needed by debtors, we see who, the princi - pal beneficiaries will be. They originally received sound money; are they to be allowed to pay in depreciated money ? Should their debts be debts of dishonor? or should they be required to pay as they borrowed, in full honest dollars, and thus preserve ciedit and

honor? Wherever there is a debtor there is a creditor, and the people are generally the creditors.— The men who work by the day or month earn honest dollars, and they should be paid for their, toil in sound money. Tho creditors of savings banks ind building associations are those who, week after week and month after month, have deposited their hard earnings, and sound money was deposited by them as the result of their and labor. If we have fr 'e and ur limited coinage of silver, and the results are the same as tliQy have been in other countries und<r similar circumstances, these depositors would not get back money oi the sam value as that vhich they putin. Those who have insured their property or their Jives m the great insurance companies of the country have year by year paid good money and sound currency to keep alive their policies; when nay day comes should not the insurance companies bo compelled to pay policy-holders in sound, hon est dollars ? Should not the farmer who toils in sunshine and storm, through many w.-ary davs to make his crop, be paid m money as good as gold for that which (lie sells ns the result of hig toil?

It is known to .11 that our silver dollars do not pass for 100 cents upon their merits, but are uphold by the law a. d the faith of the people that the government will keep them 11 par with gold, regardless of value. If our mints are opened to the free coinage of silver then the same amount of bullion will be just as valuable as the silver dollars into which it is coined, and the effect will be that the value of the silver dollar, under these conditions, will be drag ged down to the market value of the bullion.—Jas. B. McCreary in Courier-, Journal.